Graduate Specialization
The African Studies Graduate Specialization may be earned by students from any University of Oregon M.A. or Ph.D. program. The specialization is designed to be flexible, and will solidify opportunities for you to engage African Studies more formally in your studies. It will both enhance your background preparation of Africanist-related education and research, and has the potential to positively impact future job opportunities.
To declare the specialization, please contact BOTH Hope Marston (graduate coordinator for African Studies) AND Doris Payne (director of African Studies).
The UO Graduate School has general information about graduate specializations campus-wide.
Graduate Specialization Declaration Form Please complete this form, print, and then gather the Department Representative signature before submitting to the Graduate School (before the start of your final term, and no later than Week 5 in the term in which you wish to make a change).
Specialization Requirements
Students are required to take one class from each of 4 thematic areas, for a total of 4 classes and 16 units. These areas are:
- Core Course
- The African Past
- Contemporary Africa
- Culture, Ethnicity and Identity
The program offers students a great degree of flexibility and choice.
1) Core Class
ANTH 650M Seminar in African Studies
This class forms the foundation for the specialization and will introduce students to the interdisciplinary field of African Studies, focusing on approaches taken in the social sciences and humanities. It will also introduce students to the many disciplinary, thematic, practical and ethical issues involved in researching Africa. The class will meet once weekly for a three hour session where time will be spent discussing key texts in African Studies.
2) Core Area: The African Past
This core area is meant to introduce students to major debates in the contemporary study of Africa while setting these issues within their appropriate historical, social and cultural contexts. These courses will help students identify historical continuities and critical junctures in African history.
ANTH 553 | African Archeology | Stephen Dueppen |
HIST 507 | Seminar: The South African War | Lindsay Braun |
HIST 507 | Seminar: Colonialism & Environment | Lindsay Braun |
HIST 507 | Seminar: South African War 1899-1902 | Lindsay Braun |
HIST 517 | Apartheid South Africa | Lindsay Braun |
HIST 519 | History of South Africa | Lindsay Braun |
HIST 519 | History of East Africa | Melissa Graboyes |
Other | Pending Instructor Offerings |
3) Core Area: Contemporary Africa
This core area will introduce students to a range of important issues relevant to contemporary Africa. These courses explore topics such as disease in Africa, conflict, media, and the politics of social, cultural, political, and economic development.
EC 590 | Economic Growth and Development | Alfredo Burlando |
ENVS 550 | Political Ecology | Peter Walker |
ENVS 607 | Seminar in Political Ecology | Peter Walker |
GEOG 575 | Africa: Development and Environment | Peter Walker |
INTL 507 | Sustainable Tourism | |
INTL 521 | Gender & International Development | Yvonne Braun |
INTL 545 | Development and Social Change in Sub-Saharan Africa | Yvonne Braun and Stephen Wooten |
INTL 688 | Society, Culture and Politics of West Africa, Study Abroad in Senegal | Dennis Galvan, Lisa Gilman |
J 510 | Media in Ghana, Summer Study Abroad | Leslie Steeves |
J 555 | Third World Development Communication | Leslie Steeves |
WGS 532 | Gender, Environment, Development | Yvonne Braun |
WGS 551 | Gender, Justice and Globalization | Yvonne Braun |
Other | Pending Instructor Offerings |
4) Core Area: Culture, Ethnicity, Identity in Africa
This core area will introduce students to the concepts of ethnicity and other forms of identity in Africa, and allow students to understand its modern rather than primordial nature. These courses will complicate notions of ethnic or singular identity through humanities courses that explore the rich literature and music from the continent.
ARB 510 | Arabic Texts | David Hollenberg | |
Dan 510 | DEMA | Habib Iddrisu | |
FLR 516 | American Folklore | Lisa Gilman | |
FR 507 | Contemporary Africa | Andre Djiffack | |
FR 510 | African Cinema | Andre Djiffack | |
FR 590 | Migration et Traumatismes Postcoloniaux | Andre Djiffack | |
FR 590 | French and Francophone African Literature | Andre Djiffack | |
FR 590 | Identites Africaines | Andre Djiffack | |
FR 590 | Mongo Beti (literature) | Andre Djiffack | |
FR 590 | Post Colonial Africa | Andre Djiffack | |
FR 590 | Afro-Pessimism vs African Renaissance | Andre Djiffack | |
FR 607 | African Migrations and Identities | Andre Djiffack | |
LING 507 | African Linguistics Seminar | Doris Payne | |
MUS 507 | Seminar African Music | Habbib Iddrisu | |
MUS 59 | African Music | Habbib Iddrisu | |
MUS 562 | Music of the African Diaspora | Habbib Iddrisu | |
RL 507 | Theorizing the Plantation | Lanie Millar | |
RL 507 | Ibero-African Literature | Lanie Millar | |
RL 623 | Colonial/Postcolonial Transitions | Lanie Millar | |
SPAN 590 | Runaways, Rebellions and Revolutions in the Atlantic World | Lanie Millar | |
SWAH | Intensive Swahili in Zanzibar Study Abroad | Mokaya Bosire | |
Other | Pending Instructor Offerings |